Men too want the Bold & Beautiful look!
Anjana Sarin

LEANDER Paes and Abhishek Bachchan have been flaunting earrings. Adnan Sami has been moving around in floral prints and embroidered clothes. Salman Khan, Govinda and a host of other celebrities are sporting sequinned shirts and a lot of glitter these days...

These are a few attention-grabbing outfits some of India’s hottest males are strutting about in, if only to prove that whatever women can do, they can do better. Fashion watchers believe that men are suddenly tiring of the classic shirt-and-trouser routine and now aspire to look as bold and beautiful as the fairer sex.

But then, such aspirations are not really new. In primitive tribal societies, men outdid women not only in their sartorial expression, but also with accessories like feathers, beaded necklaces, headgear and ornaments. With the development of the fashion industry, these embellishments began to adorn women.

Says Sharbari Dutta, a Kolkata-based designer: "The male of the species have always wanted to strut around their stuff. But we have contained them by providing them dhoti-kurtas and sherwanis as the only diversions from the boring shirts and trousers."

In order to "correct this picture", Dutta joined hands with Bangalore-based Prasad Bidappa to launch a male jewellery line comprising gem-studded amulets, ten-headed Ravana pendants, gold sacred threads, tiger brooches and wristlets. They are all inspired by tribal designs and references from mythology.

"I have just put old wine in new bottles with my own signature," explains the designer. "I have revived whatever there is in our heritage and culture. For instance, if you read the Mahabharata, you would find Karna deriving all his power from a kavach (armlet) he wore. Jewellery meant vigour and masculinity."

As India’s best-known designer of menswear, Dutta can count Kapil Dev, Ismail Merchant and Vijay Mallaya as some of her clients. Even before venturing into an exclusive jewellery line for men, her clothes used to be heavily embellished and coordinated with ornamental buttons, chains and rings. "Today men of all ages wear some kind of jewellery in the form of rings, tie-pins, gold watches and chains," explains Ritesh Grover, a jeweller in Mumbai. No longer is jewellery associated with women alone. On the contrary, men feel very macho wearing it. He, however, points out that unlike ornaments meant for women, which are "rather dainty with a good deal of detailing and floral patterns, male jewellery is "robust with a masculine flavour". Animal forms like lions, tigers,dragons and intertwined snakes are recurrent motifs in wristlets, pendants and tie-pins.

"After all, it is a matter of concept and attitude," Grover points out. "When Abhishek Bachchan wears earrings, nobody finds him a dandy, whereas some other man might look effeminate. It all depends on how you wear your jewellery and on your ability to carry it." Clearly, the same applies to clothes. As designers turn increasingly adventurous with their reds and yellows for menswear, nobody raises an eyebrow when Saif Ali Khan sports a bandana or Sami sings Bheegi Bheegi Ratein, dressed in a floral printed shirt.

But then, as model-turned-actor Dino Morrea points out, he would be careful about wearing such shirts as they would have to suit the occasion. "I will wear them only when I have to really stand out," he says.

Counters Abhijeet Sanyal, another model: "It is an exaggeration to say you stand out in glitter and shine. Ido not see too many guys in greys, blues and blacks these days. Times have changed. There are no sexual barriers for fashion any longer. I have a set of shirts in the 1950s’ cut, tailored from sarees." While insisting that like women, "men should also wear their style", Sanyal concedes that too much of glitter or embellishments like gold embroidery and mirrorwork would render a dress fit for casual wear or at best "an evening expression". Ornamentation just does not go with formals, he maintains.

Designer Rocky S. traces this trend to the popularity of fabrics like rayon and lycra which are available in different textures, including spun and transparent varieties. "Men have become fashion conscious and are willing to experiment with embellishments, besides the usual threadwork," he observes. Whether such flamboyance would last, is anybody’s guess.

(MF)